November 20, 2013

Crowder hopes to find his shot tonight

DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks forward Jae Crowder would like to quickly put this past Monday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers in his rearview mirror.

Crowder made his first start of the season against the Sixers and responded by scoring just two points, committing three turnovers and going 1-of-8 from the floor, including 0-of-5 from three-point range. Yet it didn't make for a restless night for Crowder, who knows the formula for success following a subpar performance.

"You just let it go,'' Crowder said after Wednesday morning's shoot around. "I had a good practice yesterday and I'm looking forward to the game (tonight against Houston).

"Other than me not making shots, I played good. So I've just got to make shots.''

Coach Rick Carlisle agreed with Crowder's assessment, saying: "He played well, he just missed some shots. The important thing is that regardless of whether you're a starter or a guy coming off the bench, the process is the same.

"You step into shots, you run hard, you work hard on defense.''

Carlisle told Crowder during Monday's shoot around that he was going to start against the Sixers in place of center Samuel Dalembert. Thus, Crowder's game routine was altered and he didn't make the proper adjustments -- at least when it came to shot-making and protecting the ball.

"I just tried to adjust as much as possible, but it didn't work out for me,'' Crowder said. "You're playing with different guys (as a starter).

"I don't play that many minutes with the starters, and it's just a different groove than what you get with the bench players. You still have to adjust, and it's just an adjustment that I should have made that I didn't make to start the game.''

Crowder will be back at his customary spot coming off the bench for tonight's 8:30 game against the Rockets. And Carlisle hopes the second-year veteran will find a way to locate his shot.

"Monday night is down the road now and we've got to be focused on tonight, and Jae's an important player for us,'' Carlisle said. "I just want him to keep playing the way he's playing and shot-making, it comes as goes, as I've said many times.''